The Brain Eating Robot

There are TWO fabulous shows I always watch:

1.       The Profit

2.       I Hate My Buttocks Region

Wait, that second one was a very short-lived infomercial, and I only watched it to confirm the hate heaped upon their buttocks region.

So my real favorite other show is, “How It’s Made”.

If you’ve not ever seen this, it shows a product going from raw form to finished and ready for a new owner. Though you may skip the thrilling episode on mop-making, the more complex builds are absolutely incredible.

It tends to prove why hyper-efficient robots continue to get hired over an insolent, I-phone addicted workforce demanding a Starbucks in every lobby. The trade-off is that when robots have to go through the metal detectors, it does make them late for work.

I recently watched an episode that proved two things that GUARANTEE human beings cannot ever be fully replaced.

Done correctly, these 2 things can also guarantee that YOU are never replaced, even if your customers are faced with less expensive, eager competitors.

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The first one is: It took a human to design and build the robot.

Soon as robots can design and build themselves, I’m going to another planet (like Montana) where the robots can’t find me.

Yet as long as human beings study how machinery can maximize the build, installation, or service, you can be sure of this: When the human mistakes or inefficiencies are more costly than the robot, you can extract a human (or several thousand) from that process.

Since this efficiency quest will likely never cease, it shows the value of being a ‘systems thinker’ instead of a ‘task thinker’.

And though you’re in little danger of a robot taking your contracting job (but there’s always tomorrow!), much of your day is systemizable. From when/how often you check email to how you diagnose a ‘no service’ call, to how you hire/motivate a new staff member, it’s all a process.

If you treat all of these as events instead of processes, you'll be forced to repeat them, likely forget or stray from the way the process should work.  All this adds to costs, stress, and your eventual replacement… by a systems thinker.

The second one is: It takes people to help and train other people.

We all know what happens when machines try to intervene when a human would be welcomed. I want to meet the guy who invented the phone Auto Attendant, put vise grips on his armpit skin, then make him “Press or say ‘one’ for excruciating pain”. 

We may be able to train the people who program the robots, but never the other way around.

A recent episode of ‘How It’s Made’ showed the incredibly skilled workforce that builds the Bugatti Veyron, a now-completed run of $1.6m 250 mph supercars. Robots built and cast the engine pieces, did the aluminum welds, yet humans sifted through the leathers, assembled the engines, and performed the final tests.

Even with this much hand-building going on, one thing was very evident:

The workers had been trained, and trained, and re-trained by human beings. They worked together in choreographed perfection. If not, the process (or even the product) was ruined. They could do this at this level only because they’d been coached well and practiced it relentlessly.

Coaching for Consultants

I have often mentioned that I’m in three coaching programs. One for copywriting, another for ‘Information Marketing’ and another that focuses on different topics each few months. And I tend to wonder, “How can ANY consultant not be in constant learning mode outside of themselves?”

Maybe it’s my fear of becoming what has happened to those who don’t. One day, irrelevance moves in where competence had once resided. For 3 years, I ran a Coaching program just for Contractor Consultants to raise the standards across the board. 

Think of your experiences…

Could your children teach themselves? Your techs? How do YOU continue to grow beyond the incremental experience of the day? Are you getting better, or just ‘same ol’ same ol’?

It would take someone very arrogant to believe they’d ever learned enough about their work to quit learning. Heck, every NASCAR driver, professional golfer, and top CEO’s have coaches.

Coaching for Contractors

When our daily on-site consulting rates went to $7,800 (cheap by some standards) I realized that the contractors who needed marketing help the most weren’t getting it. Further, annual seminars are great but they’re a single-dose-by-fire-hose approach that carries little momentum.

That’s why we created The Mega-Marketer Coaching program, (and I’m about to show you how to take a no-cost test drive). It gives you the ‘seminar experience’ in our Monthly Coaching Call without travel. Plus members get regular, ongoing marketing training on:

1.       What’s working now

2.       How to systemize what’s working (put marketing on ‘auto-pilot’)

3.       What trends are ending (Get out before it costs you any more)

Just taking the time to read articles (like this) puts you ahead of most competitors, yet I’ve been wanting to find a way to give you a taste of real coaching… to see what it’s like to have someone “on your side” helping you through the marketing minefield.

Right now, we’d like to invite 10 new members to join us. To see if this is a ‘fit’ for both of us, you can take a zero cost test drive FIRST.

You get 1-to-1 support, feedback on marketing initiatives, advice on ‘What to use now’, plus the monthly call. All at no charge for a full month. So go here to check it out.

The main thing is that we all need a coach. We all need encouragement, experience, and training outside our four walls. Every person with a willingness to improve should try to access that improvement. And if you hate your buttocks region, I know a show you can watch.

Adams Hudson

Stuff You Should NEVER Say to Customers

“Hi There, I personally think you’re a major dolt with the personality of a Dry Erase board.”

See? I’d NEVER say that (okay, not to your face), but haven’t you ‘thought’ that about someone? (Possibly the last time we spoke!)

This is why God gave us filters – HEPA approved – to think before we speak. So, if you take that extreme example above, realize there are subtle layers of comments we make, thinking or not, that can massively impact our persuasion. This means: SALES.

The words you choose can COST you a fortune or MAKE you a fortune.

In marketing, I get the luxury of thinking hard (sometimes I make a frowny face to prove how hard I’m working) BEFORE my words turn into scripts ads or web copy. I put much effort into the order, word choice, sentence length and pauses, but that’s what I pretend to do for a living. However –

When you’re in front of a customer – live, on the phone or hurriedly banging out an email – you have no such luxury. It’s your wits, your ‘of the moment’ comments that WILL make or break you.

Here are the WORST phrases and words that are very commonly used, plus their SUPERIOR replacements. I strongly recommend tattooing this article to any remaining blank space on your younger staff members.

RULE 1: What you say to customers, HOW you say it and your body language while saying it has nothing to do with your price, quality of service or stocked trucks. It has everything to do with WHY that’s valuable to your customers.

PROOF of RULE 1: I took 3 pieces of antique outdoor furniture to a highly recommended powder coater. I delivered and picked up in my old truck. Upon picking them up, the work was gorgeous, the owner friendly, the price fair.

As I was loading it, one of his helpers said, “I can’t believe whoever you’re deliverin’ this to wanted to get this junk redone.” I reeled. “You mean my wife?”

As he stammered to recover, his boss grabbed him by the elbow, apologizing to me, marching him away for a “discussion”. See, none of the “work” mattered; it came down to a few horribly chosen words. If the boss hadn’t been there, or been so polite later, those words could have easily ended up on Facebook, Yelp and/or any review site I chose, costing the owner daily for months, maybe longer. Is it worth it?

Today, you can’t risk a callous remark by an untrained tech or CSR. If you value customers or your business, soft-skills training is no longer optional for success-seekers; it is mandatory.

How often do “little” things get said by your staff that are either received negatively or miscommunicated? And if so, do you ever know about it?

Do you eavesdrop on your CSR’s? Recently, we called a contractor whose ill-tempered CSR never said, “Hello” but merely shouted the company name and “Please hold!” You think this would’ve made a good impression on the wealthiest client in town? Or to a reporter? Or to your most loyal customer?

So, click here to download the WORST & BEST words and phrases I compiled just for contractors. 

Start using them today. Watch your sales and closes go up tomorrow!

Okay, so that’s it from me. I felt it was important to send you into the Summer season with the best tools to succeed!

Oh, and if that includes generating more leads and higher prices for you than your competition, we have the marketing pieces (with the right words!) to do that.

Hope this helps you.

Tax Evasion for Dummies

It’s that time of year again. You know, when our loveable government tax agency – filled with charming and fun people who have no need to read any further – bill you for living in the United States.

Wait, they let you figure out your own bill! Yet, you must first decipher the ‘secret code’ (without a decoder ring) that is 700 pages long. And then there’s Chapters 2-40.

If you misinterpret the code, you may be required to pay an “I couldn’t figure it out” penalty or get sent to a Government Recreational Facility, which is funded by those who did figure out the code. Confused? Don’t be! Here are THREE big points to help you:

1)      Earn more, pay more. It’s like a reverse commission. Too high? See Item 2.

2)      Earn less, pay less. There! Or you can…

3)      Earn nothing, pay nothing! PLUS, you get paid by people in the other two groups to continue doing nothing. See? That’s why it’s called a system!

Now this is all cleared up, here’s How to make your tax concerns a thing of the past.  

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First, please know that I am not an accountant; never have been one and I get nervous in the presence of Excel. My advice in this area would rival that of lettuce.

Yet, I’d also be leery of Governmental type people giving you ANY spending advice, especially since they spent YOUR tax money on the following things I did not make up:

Ø  Gave Alaska Airlines $500,000 “to paint a Chinook salmon” on the side of a Boeing 737. Come to Alabama. I know some guys who’d do an awesome Largemouth bass for a 12-pack.

Ø  Spent $175,587 “to determine if cocaine makes Japanese quail engage in sexually risky behavior”. My opinion: Find the guy who suggested this study and arrest him because he is doing some very weird things.

Ø  Spent $151,988 on a study to determine “Why College freshmen had a tendency to add weight.“  I think I have your answer: a) Lots of beer, b) Lots of pizza, c) Very few parents standing over them saying, ‘Get your ASSociates degree off the couch and go do something.”  Does this solve the mystery?

“What? You’re like saying that like pepperonis are like not a fruit?”

(Editor: No, they’re not. And your boyfriend is a loser.)

Public Complaint Makes Private Disclosure

How many times have you heard someone say, “Man my taxes are SOOOO high?” Those people are actually saying:

“I am making a ton of dough. But since that is considered improper, I’ll make it sound like a complaint. Plus, I have a seriously awesome watch. ”

Yet – unimpressive as they are – they are onto something.

So, to quit worrying about our government flushing our tax money down those 1.6 gallon toilets:

Make More. Care Less.

To me, I don’t so much want some mythical mountain of money, I just want autonomy. (Thank heaven I had great mentors on this topic.) Some of this is attitudinal. So, instead of complaining about taxes, consider them thusly:

Your taxes really are a sales commission, paid to mostly responsible parties who try to keep you safe, give and protect freedoms, provide decent roads and sanitation, all within a compassionate system designed to catch you if you fall.

Sure, the policies are sometimes as dysfunctional as a quail on cocaine, but complaining doesn’t help or I’d be 6’4” by tomorrow morning. 

Your job – should you accept it – is to make as much as you possibly can to the degree you can live your freedoms happily. Save it, spend it, give it away. Leave the rest for taxes and call it a day.

Raise Your Pay Automatically

It’s NOT taxes that are stifling your financial independence, this is:

1.       Your own education about wealth attraction, accumulation, including…

2.       Business systems to improve cash flow

3.       Business systems to improve net profit (or however you’re directly paid)

And if your ‘investment’ in any of those comes back as “Either zero or next to it,” then your return is likely commensurate. Just an observation. Here’s an aside:

The most successful contractors I know are the SAME ONES every year, often on the front row of the seminars. (About 7-10 of my consultant friends have the identical observation; this is not coincidence.)

They invest in coaching, training. They invest in ‘systems’ for sales, operations, technical and – to my way of thinking – the most influential of all, marketing. (You just KNEW I’d slide that in!) Honestly, they realize that no leads or a forgotten presence can ruin the rest of their goals.

And they realize no investment in Customer Retention means, well, not much customer retention, who I’m pretty sure pay for everything you and I have.

They also hire slowly, ‘dismiss’ rather quickly and continue to improve the system. Their best people are well-educated in job performance AND improvement thereof. (This study of excellence is another topic, possibly worthy of a full coaching call. Your thoughts? Add it to comments below.)

So, as you complete your tax “commissions” this year, consider it a little scorecard to tell you:

“Am I closer or farther away from my goals than last year?”

This is a decent reading on your Autonomy Meter. If farther away, make adjustments (call your coach here), and if closer, congratulations. My hopes are that after writing your commission check to the government, you’re a giant step closer to not caring how much it is.

Adams Hudson

The Simple Marketing Secret Most Contractors Overlook

Let’s say you meet someone for the first time, and during that meeting, you have a great conversation and realize you have some common interests.  You seem to look at things the same way. 

You just get a feeling that this is a good person, and you may think, “You know, we could be friends.” 

“Could be” is the key phrase, of course.   Because, I’m sure you realize, it would take some specific actions to move from “we could be friends” to “we are friends.”  And one of the things you’d have to do is stay in touch.  You’d have to talk again.  You’d have to be in contact with each other. 

Now, if you’re starting to ask yourself why I’m telling you something so obvious, it’s because experience has shown me that a lot of contractors act as if “staying in touch” is a principle they've never heard of. 

And frankly, that’s scary. 

In most cases, it costs you in marketing expenses around $275-$325 to gain a new customer.  If you don’t keep that customer, you've spent an awful lot for a “one-time” service call.

Each name in your database only represents “could be” customer potential.  No, they’re not active customers any more than a one-time meeting with someone qualifies them as a friend. You've got to take action for that to happen.

The simple fact is this:  regular contact keeps customers.  That involves a number of tried-and-true techniques, such as:

•  Follow-up visits with thank you cards, calls, or emails: This simple act speaks volumes of your company and can boost your image. Have your techs keep a stock of thank you cards with pre-stamped envelopes and they can fill them out right after the service call. This two minute task will let your customer know that you appreciate their business.
• Offer maintenance agreements: How great is it to have a customer pay to remain a customer? This loyalty program is a mutual investment between the consumer and the provider. In a maintenance agreement a customer could get a higher level of service, exclusive discounts, special treatment, or even guarantees. What you get out of this is a reliable income stream. Maintenance agreements can even out your cash flow and provide a year round income.
• Reactivation Letters: Never throw away a list of names. An ex-customer will reactivate and spend money if you say the right things. Tell them that you miss them and if you've done something that might have offended them that you want to make it right with something free or a discount. By getting a response from this list you've saved money that was headed straight for the trash.

Equally important are holiday cards, “customer only” direct mail offers and a customer retention newsletter. 

If done correctly, that last item – the newsletter – is the centerpiece of a well-run customer retention program. In fact, if you only do one thing, make it a newsletter that goes out at least twice a year. 

Fill it with interesting “home care” tidbits so it’s not perceived as “advertising,” and thus forges a far better image and strengthens the relationship. Better relationship equals better retention. 

How to Get a Customer Newsletter

1. You can do it yourself. If you’re prone to writing, designing, graphics, editorial layout and have experience crafting an informative newsletter that can also sell, then go for it! Many times I speak with contractors who do it themselves the first time, then “run dry” for info on subsequent efforts. Therefore, there’s option 2…
2. Hire it out. An ad agency or newsletter creation service can create a special one for you, customized exactly as you want it. Unless your database is over 10,000 or so, the costs can be significant. This is why there’s option 3…
3. Use a “syndicated” newsletter. This is also known as “semi-custom.” It is very fast since the template for the newsletter and most of the content is already done. This also makes it far less costly. Some companies offer ‘ads’ for your company. Stay away from the overly slick fluffy ones since they don’t appear “local” enough to consumers.

A good syndicated customer retention newsletter costs less than $6 a year per customer, including postage!  Not a bad return on investment, especially since it involves returning customers.  Every customer who has written you a check or swiped a card in the last 48 months should be receiving your newsletter. 

All high performing newsletters will have an online component. A QR code can link your printed newsletter to your online version. Hudson, Ink can provide Newsletter customers with an online newsletter portal that is updated monthly with new content and offers for your customers. This improves your online presence, gives you content you can share on your social channels and provides even more helpful and useful information to your customers.

Sending a Newsletter to your customer is like having a cup of coffee with your customers at regularly specified times each season. It’s low pressure and keeps your company at the top of your customers mind.

Always remember, your company’s current customers are the absolute #1 source of your future sales. Loyal customer will end up spending 33% more with your company and sending 107% more referrals to your business than non-loyal customers. And speaking of referrals, newsletters are a great place to utilize referral requests. Most contractors think that referrals “just happen” but that’s usually not the case. If each of your customers referred one other then you would double your customer list right now. For free. 

When you lose customers, you lose all of their future business and all of their referrals to your competition.  When you keep customers, you keep that pool of sales for yourself.  And isn’t that a scenario worth considering?  

Good News About My Heart Attack

I was stunned beyond belief.

I had just sat down after a decently rigorous flurry of activity following the largest ‘Open Coaching Call’ we’d ever held. (451 Contractors registered; a phenomenal number of eager learners. More in this issue.)

I was going through the typical avalanche of emails following such, over-hearing a buzz of phone conversations, a regular flow of faxes hummed in the background. (Yes, still a significantly efficient form of communication.)

I’d had my ‘normal’ pre-call meal: a light turkey on wheat from Subway, loaded with vegetables.

Then it happened. Out of nowhere.

I got an email from my friend Tom Grandy, of Grandy and Associates, in response to my offer of a ‘breaking bread’ meal together while he was in my state. We’ve done it before, and I always enjoy time with Tom.

The subject line of his reply was, “My triple bypass”, and my heart sank. He went on to say that after returning from Africa (where his daughter is a missionary), Tom was on his treadmill. I mean the real kind, not the figurative one that chains some to a desk of monotony. Then something happened.

The next thing he knew, panicked faces hovered over him as he was rushed to a hospital for emergency surgery. He had 100% blockage in one artery and 90% in another, but he was snatched from death’s door. Now think of this –

Having a Bad Day, Anyone?

The above situation would be considered a ‘bad day’ in most anyone’s estimation, right? I mean, having your heart fondled by a team of strangers with scalpels and jumper cables seems low on the “My Most Awesome Day” contest submissions. Yet, Tom said in his email:

“God is so good to me. This could’ve happened while I was in Africa away from medical help. It could’ve happened on the 28 hour flight home. I am so fortunate that it happened in my own town with people who love me right there to help. That’s the good news about my heart attack.”

Brings tears to my eyes to even write that.

Some sermons are in words, and occasionally vanish on their way to the ceiling. Some sermons are in example, and they stick forever. His faith allowed a low point to be celebrated, recalled fondly and elicit gratitude. Wow.

Apparently, somewhere in the midst of arterial constriction lies the difference between a deeply appreciative spirit and a thinly complaining shell. (Is this the real distinction between good and bad cholesterol? I can’t ever keep ‘em straight anyway.)

And somewhere out there, somebody is complaining that their Latte is too frothy. That their customers are too picky. That their teenagers are too teenager-y. That their wife has a wrinkle, or their husband has a twinkle, and neither have an inkling of how to get back over the bridge of their relationship.

In my dual meaning best: “Get over it.”

Lo, here am I – in my selfishly-consumed best – who just moments before had been wrangling well-intentioned staff to keep up with the numbers of contractors on the call. To make sure ‘x’ was done so ‘y’ would happen and yield ‘z’ for the effort. I complained about mythically-missed opportunities. Oh, woe is me. Boo-bleeping-Hoo.

And Tom – who had enough tubes coming out of him to qualify as an aquarium – was writing thank you notes to God for his heart attack.

Attitude, Meet Adjustment

My first inclination was to write him back and say how much the story of his heart attack lifted my spirits. But that came out more ghoulish than intended. Seems you’d follow up with, “The next time I need a boost, I hope you’ll get a liver transplant!”

Yet, his attitude minimized and re-framed my microscopic problems. As a lasting lesson, I tried this:

Take a moment and imagine your work life and all its so-called “Problems”. Really. Take inventory of your particular pain points: The non-existent marketing program, complain-y customers, your co-worker with the IQ of toenail fungus. All of it.

Now imagine your veins turn into wine corks, and tell your heart to “Take a break for a few minutes and watch this”. Soon it’s you getting the $800 ambulance ride to a really sterile room that beeps a lot. What of those “pain points” will even measure up once you come to?

If they’re still problems after that, get ‘em gone. Adios. And – to be quite honest – keeping those things in your life will likely accelerate your schedule with the ambulance driver anyway.

It’s About Selection

We can choose what to celebrate. Or bemoan. We can choose our reaction. Or let it choose us. If we can alleviate one pain of yours, let us know.

As it turns out, Tom is fine, in mind, body and spirit. Thanks for the inspiration. 

I Want to Work with You, Code Cracker

Every now and then, it’s good to be boss. Not during tax season, nor during that ‘uncomfortable’ chat with a certifiably insane ex-employee, nor when the quasi-charity people call you 32 times a day.
Yet it IS good when your lovable staff hits a goal or just deserves to have a little fun.
So, last week we all went to the movies. (Well, they went while I rigged security cameras in their workspace. Ha!) Actually this was my wife’s great idea, so I took credit for it.
We saw ‘The Imitation Game,’ and I asked all to watch for ONE marketing principle from that film. Since it was a WWII code-cracking movie, you might think this was difficult.
Not even a little bit. The movie was superb, yet their observations were astounding. There was one very brief reference to an easily missed nugget, yet SEVERAL people noticed it as their chosen principle.
I was amazed. So, this is how I’d like to work with you this year… The lead is a genius mathematician named Alan Turing who believes he can unravel the Nazi ‘Enigma’ code. Yet, he has the personality of a rotted cactus, which makes him rather difficult to work with. (From first-hand painful experience, people just don’t understand us geniuseses.)
In fact, his team of highly gifted fellow (and one babe lady) code-crackers want to extract his organs. They would rather work against him than have him achieve his dream. That is, until the babe shows him how to get your way:
Be likeable. “If you’re liked, people want to work with you.”
This was a revelation to Mr. Congeniality. “How do you do that?” he asked. “By showing kindness,” said the babe. So the very next day, Alan takes all of their heads out of the vises. Ha! I get funnier the longer this goes… no he becomes:

• Interested in them
• Shows kindness
• And got a team of cooperative, motivated, loyal supporters working toward a common goal

And the movie goes from there, and yes, there’s victory. (See the movie, really.) Yet the ‘lesson’ is that, working apart is self-defeating and working together toward a goal is self-liberating.
Let’s Do This Together
For years, Hudson Ink has worked to establish the largest Marketing Coaching Group for Contractors in the nation. Though it essentially (and by design) ended my $9,800/day consulting gigs, it has been substantially more rewarding for all to work together toward a common goal.
And on Wednesday, February 11, 2015, we’re OPENING THE DOORS for a no-cost, no-strings test drive by having a ONE TIME ONLY LIVE PRESENTATION OF:
The Top 5 Most Explosive Contractor Marketing Trends for 2015
I asked another consultant, Brian Kraff of Market Hardware, to assist me in this presentation. He agreed instantly. I asked other consultants to invite their best customers, and they agreed. This will be a very crowded event! (Coaching members WILL get in; non-members need to be rather rapid about registration.)
We will discuss:

• Bring in more leads using what works today – Online and offline techniques that work together.
• Win on Google using what’s working now – Crack the Google code and master social media.
• Build a higher image and better branding – Learn how to sell more at a higher price.
• Automate your marketing – Learn ways to cut time and stress from your marketing plan.

Plus, we’re dumping a PILE of cool downloads, freebies and more on those who register.
OH, and you know that burning question you have… THE issue you can’t resolve… THE thing keeping you from the next level? Well…
We WANT your questions on that! So register and SEND US A QUESTION! (About marketing – not Nazi code-cracking please!)  Your question helps us build the curriculum.
This will be an open discussion of ‘What’s Working Now’ that requires nothing more of you than showing up! See? We’re working together toward a common goal, and I greatly look forward to it, so get your fanny registered here.
In the spirit of open collaboration, I ask that you invite as many of your colleagues and groups by sharing the link above. I’ll pay for as many lines as is practical. (The registration will close once we reach capacity, so register first, THEN share this link like a crazy person.) Let’s make this thing huge!
Looking forward to working with you.  And for that, we can both be boss.Adams Hudson
- See more at: http://salesandmarketinginsider.com/article-i-want-to-work-with-you-code-cracker.html#anchorEvery now and then, it’s good to be boss. Not during tax season, nor during that ‘uncomfortable’ chat with a certifiably insane ex-employee, nor when the quasi-charity people call you 32 times a day.

Yet it IS good when your lovable staff hits a goal or just deserves to have a little fun.

So, last week we all went to the movies. (Well, they went while I rigged security cameras in their work-space. Ha!) Actually this was my wife’s great idea, so I took credit for it.

We saw ‘The Imitation Game,’ and I asked all to watch for ONE marketing principle from that film. Since it was a WWII code-cracking movie, you might think this was difficult.

Not even a little bit. The movie was superb, yet their observations were astounding. There was one very brief reference to an easily missed nugget, yet SEVERAL people noticed it as their chosen principle.

I was amazed. So, this is how I’d like to work with you this year…

The lead is a genius mathematician named Alan Turing who believes he can unravel the Nazi ‘Enigma’ code. Yet, he has the personality of a rotted cactus, which makes him rather difficult to work with. (From first-hand painful experience, people just don’t understand us geniuseses.)

In fact, his team of highly gifted fellow (and one babe lady) code-crackers want to extract his organs. They would rather work against him than have him achieve his dream. That is, until the babe shows him how to get your way:

Be likeable. “If you’re liked, people want to work with you.”

This was a revelation to Mr. Congeniality. “How do you do that?” he asked. “By showing kindness,” said the babe. So the very next day, Alan takes all of their heads out of the vises. Ha! I get funnier the longer this goes… no he becomes:

• Interested in them
• Shows kindness
• And got a team of cooperative, motivated, loyal supporters working toward a common goal

And the movie goes from there, and yes, there’s victory. (See the movie, really.) Yet the ‘lesson’ is that, working apart is self-defeating and working together toward a goal is self-liberating.

Let’s Do This Together

For years, Hudson Ink has worked to establish the largest Marketing Coaching Group for Contractors in the nation. Though it essentially (and by design) ended my $9,800/day consulting gigs, it has been substantially more rewarding for all to work together toward a common goal.

And on Wednesday, February 11, 2015, we’re OPENING THE DOORS for a no-cost, no-strings test drive by having a ONE TIME ONLY LIVE PRESENTATION OF:

The Top 5 Most Explosive Contractor Marketing Trends for 2015

I asked another consultant, Brian Kraff of Market Hardware, to assist me in this presentation. He agreed instantly. I asked other consultants to invite their best customers, and they agreed. This will be a very crowded event! (Coaching members WILL get in; non-members need to be rather rapid about registration.)

We will discuss:

• Bring in more leads using what works today – Online and offline techniques that work together.
• Win on Google using what’s working now – Crack the Google code and master social media.
• Build a higher image and better branding – Learn how to sell more at a higher price.
• Automate your marketing – Learn ways to cut time and stress from your marketing plan.

Plus, we’re dumping a PILE of cool downloads, freebies and more on those who register.

OH, and you know that burning question you have… THE issue you can’t resolve… THE thing keeping you from the next level? Well…

We WANT your questions on that! So register and SEND US A QUESTION! (About marketing – not Nazi code-cracking please!)  Your question helps us build the curriculum.

This will be an open discussion of ‘What’s Working Now’ that requires nothing more of you than showing up! See? We’re working together toward a common goal, and I greatly look forward to it, so get your fanny registered here.

In the spirit of open collaboration, I ask that you invite as many of your colleagues and groups by sharing the link above. I’ll pay for as many lines as is practical. (The registration will close once we reach capacity, so register first, THEN share this link like a crazy person.) Let’s make this thing huge!

Looking forward to working with you.  And for that, we can both be boss.

Advice for the New Year - Plan!

When planning your marketing for the New Year, your spending decisions should be partly personality driven. Who you are should guide what you do – whether you’re a conservative, moderate or aggressive marketing investor. And creating a plan comes out of asking yourself simple questions like: 

•     What are your goals? (Think in terms of services performed, products sold, dollars achieved, incentives paid and rate of increased retention for customers and employees.) 
•    Who are you trying to reach? Rank your markets by size.
•        When will you run your promotions? Obviously, some services are geared towards certain seasons.
•        How do you plan to reach them? Select your primary media choices; include follow-up preferences too.
•      What advertising tools and unique message will you use?
•       How much do you plan to spend? Select the percentages based on your marketing profile.     
•       How will you measure, improve and repeat?

You haven’t really planned unless you’ve planned how to measure your plan’s success. What will need changing? This question, in fact, has become even more important in recent years.

Obviously, we’ve seen shifts in the media we have always known. That includes the traditional Yellow Pages and print media – both impacted by consumer preference for online resources. And online media is growing ever more prominent.

Where to begin? Set a marketing plan in motion, no matter how small. At the most basic level, divide your year into quarters and define which ones are your peak seasons and which are “off-peak.” Figure exactly what you’ll spend to promote what during that time. Then decide “how” you’ll deliver that message (media). You’re ahead of most of your competition just by doing this.

Request a free marketing profile.

TRUE STORY: How to Not Win Customers

Next year we’re celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. That is, if she’ll start behaving soon. (Camera cuts to me pleading, “No dear, I didn’t make any snide remarks in a public forum. May I peel you more sunflower seeds?”)

Since we’re going like way out of town, I headed to the post office to update my passport. Funny, my kids have been to Europe twice since my passport expired. Something is seriously wrong here.

And something is equally wrong with the United States Post Office. Yes, I realize they spent all their lunch money when Reagan was prez, but if you’ll look at this stupid sign at the entrance, you’ll see this is one of dozens of things very rotten about their message. And this same thing applies to you in your business. Check out the dumbest greeting sign ever…

The parking lot, by the way, holds 80 cars, and I never see more than 5-6 there. And are the words, ‘…or less’ really needed here?

Imagine this idiotic sign in front of any place that might want customers. Or might want them to linger. Can you imagine Starbucks doing this? There’d be bedlam in the social media streets. Baristas would leap from drive through windows.

So, they have serious sales problems, and are doing their best to curtail their nonexistent customers to 30 minutes. Got it.

I pick on this sign, not for the lunacy it is, but as an indicator of systemic failure. Yes, the problems persisted indoors.

The place looks shabby. Soaked ceiling tiles, half drooping. Hand scrawled signs haphazardly taped to walls with friendly notes like, “Don’t let your children play on the rails,” and “Stand behind yellow line until next teller motions.” (Motions? Motions for what… a pardon?)

This Conversation Actually Happened

ME: (After being properly motioned), “I’m renewing my passport and…
ZOMBIE LIKE PERSON in grayish blue, to match her blood: “He’s not here. He’ll be back at 1:00”.
ME: “Uh, he? (I’m struggling already.) “He, the Passport specialist?”
ZLP: “Yeah. He takes the pichers. He’ll be back at 1.”
ME: “It’s 5 after 12. Can I get the forms to fill out and come back?”
ZLP: “You can do that and take it to CVS or Walgreens. They’ll do the photo. You pay them the $35 fee.”
ME: (Thinking) Did she just send me to the competition?
ZLP: “Here’s an envelope. I think they’ll sell you the postage too.” Yells in back. “Hey Mike! Won’t they sell him the postage after they take the picher?”
Mike, avoiding the menace of photography during lunch: “Yeah, they can do all that.”
ME: (Dumbfounded that photo-boy was there the whole time. I’m sent away without a passport, photo, or postage from the very place you’d expect THAT at a minimum.)

I leave stunned, with a touch of zombie-itis setting in as I pass the stupid sign on the way out.

At the CVS, there was no customer repellant signage. No “he” eating an egg sandwich, unable to help. A very helpful 4 minutes later, my photo is taken, the form reviewed, postage affixed, and process begun. I bet every CVS trainee in America can click the camera button, especially for the $35 Passport fee, plus the $110 for the processing, including $8.90 for the postage. How much did CVS keep?

Then she kindly asks for an upsell: “Do you want to look at some travel-size toiletries while you’re here?” That type behavior will probably get you kicked off the Customer Repellant team at the Post Office.

A Question that leads to Wealth:
Are you adding or reducing friction with your customers?

With every customer contact, you’re doing one or the other. The Post Office was solid friction. CVS was like ball-bearings with Z-max poured on them.

• Is your CSR trained to advance the call? Or to put people on hold? My friends at CallSource tell me that the average appointment set rate for contractors is a painful 64%. That’s like 36% of the people being sent to the competition, eager to buy.

• Are your techs versed to advance the sale or relationship? How many mention the Maintenance Agreement and the discount they could’ve gotten? Do they ask for a positive online review? How many mention your other services?

(Two different consulting clients told me this month that their ‘other’ services fall behind when one is super busy. My question: “HOW CAN THIS BE when they are in MORE HOUSES?” Blank stares and silence ensues.)

• Does your follow-up contact ask about satisfaction? Referrals? Other services they wish you offered? Gather the email address? Bump to an Agreement?

• Does your outbound marketing only tout ‘sales’? (Fastest way to lose credibility.)  Only 55% of your marketing balance should be Direct Response, and I’m aggressive. The other should be Image, TOMA, and Retention. (Call your coach.)

• …Or vague generalities, with nothing unique?  “We’re fast, reliable, and honest!” Oh really? My clients are slow, unpredictable, and steal constantly.

While pondering the New Year, make some new changes to reduce friction everywhere you can. You’ll find far more business will slide your way, along with referrals, reputation, and more reasons your customers will grow blind and deaf to the competition.

They’ll be the ones eating the egg sandwich, wondering where all the customers went.

- See more at: Sales&MarketingInsider.com

HVAC Marketing Year at a Glance

Plan by the Calendar 

We work with over 3,000 contractors a year, and the number one problem we help solve is “marketing control.” You’re a contractor. You control job flow, costs, time, design and personnel… but you often have no control of the marketing that generates the leads and sales.

Take control and get more customers in less time at a lower cost. Higher income and less stress are the natural results! Use these monthly snapshots to guide your marketing in the year to come…

January

Coming off a Christmas lull, buyers can be hard to shake. Yet your New Year’s resolutions should be to never let a marketing opportunity pass. Your marketing plan and budgets should be in place, spending around 4-6% of projected sales on marketing depending on your marketing personality profile. (You can get aMarketing Budget Calculator, based on your goals, at no-cost at the end of thisarticle.)

The weather should be bringing you enough service leads, but no need to wait around. Send letters/emails or make calls to “non-closed sales” over the last 90 days offering added incentive. Send postcards to larger groups touting your service benefits with a New Year’s Gift Discount. We’ve found $20 off to be the best combination of incentive and profitability. Post the discount opportunity to your Facebook page, with the link pointing to your main site.

February

Winter’s chill is lessened in warmer states; still frozen in cooler ones. Thus for warmer climates, prepare an “end of season” direct response replacement offer as appropriate. Colder states continue pumping selected service groups to build customer database. All states can consider a “Buy a New System at Last Year’s Price” offer to stir reluctant replacement callers.

Accessory/add-on sales can include a direct response thermostat replacement, furnace upgrade offer, or humidifier. Use social sites to post benefits of each accessory; not to ‘sell’ but to educate. Use your main site to sell.

The strategy during February is to gather more names for your hottest list. All calls – prospects, demanding service, and quotes – should be on your list to mail for your customer retention push coming up next month. This is critical. Watch for your zip code response penetration. Those who respond most have elements of “commonality” that is important for future targeting.

March

March is the beginning of your customer retention push. This means sending newsletters to your active customer base (activity within the last 48 months). Pre-season tune-up and preventive maintenance offers can begin in warmer climates. Cooler climates need their “End of Season” or other direct response promos out. Final call for getting winter’s “non-closed” sales to respond! Make your offer compelling, with the primary benefit stated in the headline.

April

April is big for IAQ and a continuation of tune-up plus maintenance agreement sales. Better to “cast a broad net” for tune-ups, then go for maintenance agreements in one step. The only place you can sell an agreement effectively in one step is in your newsletter. Use ads and postcards to spread the message.

We like Facebook posts that educate followers about benefits of IAQ, and agreements. Many are tempted to “sell” on social sites, but the “85/15” path of advice to selling is far more appealing for long-term gain.

May

According to plan, your newsletters went out last month, right? So, May begins another prospect acquisition phase that should continue through summer.

May is also the end of school, beginning of vacation and warm weather. Capitalize on this with massive “Pre-Season” replacement offers and last-minute tune-up or preventive maintenance offers.

This is the time to snatch leads and sales from competitors who are “waiting on the weather.” If you miss sales now, they’re out of the market for a long time. Be very aggressive. Use your hardest direct response ads now. The two best performers in our Marketing Powersuite are rebates that can be used toward vacations, and “trade in” offers on old systems.

We also advise using the 2-Step Lead Generator for web-based leads. First step is to post a very strong, very persuasive promotional offer on your site. Second step is to send a short email to your entire target list, with a link to that page. The next “adjustment” to that offer is a short post on social sites with a link to the landing page. Our recorded results for this method have generated 4 times the traffic in 14 days. Get the details in the 2-Step Lead Generator

June

June has hit us with the distraction of vacations, outdoor activities… and hopefully some hot weather. Your techs are the key to more replacement and HVAC upgrade leads.

Train techs for these “green lights.” Repairs over $400 or on 8 year-old systems should be replacement prospects. Recession-weary consumers will be interested in financing offers or incentives, so make sure your techs are well-versed. DO NOT let “declined repair” customers go without hearing from your salesperson or CSR to close the deal post-visit.

High image marketing helps support high margin replacements. All service calls – every single one – should be offered a maintenance agreement.

 

Okay, that list can get you through the first half of your year in good order. Save this post as a reference tool.

Just as in your contracting jobs, your marketing results are better when you have a plan. Catch a glimpse of the future, and let it become clearer by following a proven path. Share this vision with your staff to make it even more real.

It’s up to you to make this your best year ever.

Get a free “2015 Marketing Budget Calculator” by emailing to freestuff@hudsonink.com. You can also call Hudson, Ink at 1-800-489-9099 for help or visit www.hudsonink.com for other free marketing articles and reports. Remember to follow Hudson, Ink on Facebook and LinkedIn for more marketing tips and tricks.